IOP Superstitions in Dont Let go to the Dogs Tonight

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Transcript of IOP Superstitions in Dont Let go to the Dogs Tonight

Don't Let's go to the Dog's Tonight SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT LIFE The Coming-Back Baby "some Africans believe that if your baby dies, you must buryit far away from your house... so that the baby does not come back... and plant itself in the womb only to die a short time after birth" (35). Touching Things that Belonged to the Dead Bobo's Views on African Superstitions "And I think that if i hadn't touched the things of the dead we wouldn't be having all this bad luck" (200). requires magic, incantations, and gifts to the godsBobo does not believe she is a coming-back babya way for people who lose numerous babies to find comfort, if performed correctly "some Africans would say, 'The child is possessed, of course'. On account of the Coming-Back Baby. 'And there are various magics you can perform with the help of a witch doctor if you wish to keep her'"(39). " 'You must not touch things of the dead!' 'Thompson, don't be so superstitious' ... I tossed the pottery carelessly back into the cave.... 'There. Happy?' He said, 'Oh, you shouldn't... have thrown it like that'" (199-200). The dead owner can trouble your life if somebody touches their things. Bobo does not believe in this superstition at first.negatively effects everybody involved "Thompson didn't even turn around, much less slow down.Why are you frightened?' I had to scuffle quickly...to keep up with Thompson and Vanessa 'You touched the things of the dead,' said Thompson. And I saw then that he was beyond scared, he was angry too. (200) Bobo does not believe them until she thinks about her unlucky familyHer views on being a Coming-Back baby waver "Adrian is a Coming-Back Baby, if you can believe what some Africans say.I should have been a Coming-Back Baby, but I didn't believe what some Africans say." (36) Owl Superstition "We call him Jeeves. He's a spotted eagle owl. The Zambians here are deeply superstitious about owls. They believe that if an owl lands on a roof and hoots, an inhabitant of the house on which the owl lands will die" (271). Bobo's mom takes care of Jeeves after he had been injuredThey do not believe in the African superstition "Once in a while he calls, 'Voo-wu-hoo,' and the Zambians shudder and hunch their shoulders, as if against a stinging dust storm" (272). White Superstitions "Mum will spend hours...re-sorting and re-baling the leaves in the superstitious belief that a new presentation might bring a healthier price" (134). White superstitions revolve around luck and what they need at a certain timeDifferent traditions and values "We hold a rain dance. We invite all the neighbors. There are Greeks, Yugoslavs, Zambians, Czechs, Coloureds, expats-like-us, Afrikaners, a woman who is said to be part Native American, a Canadian, the English Friend, and one Indian.... Dad threatens to find a virgin, to sacrifice to the gods. None among our party are considered worthy. Instead, several of the female guests are thrown into the the drought-stagnant pool. And still the rains do not come" (279). The Fullers "'Bad-luck things happen. That's just the way it is. They happen all the time. It doesn't mean anything, Bobo. It doesn't mean that the bad-luck things have anything to do with each other. If you start thinking that bad luck comes all together on purpose or that it has to do with the managers or with you or with anything else, you'll gobonkers'. 'Mum's already bonkers' (208). "Mum is living with the ghosts of her dead children... Her sentences and thoughts are interrupted by the cries of her dead babies. Only Olivia has had a proper funeral. Richard and Adrian are in unmarked graves. They float and hover, un-pressed-down" (210). Conclusion African superstitions are about diseases, death, and magicWhite (African) superstitions are about (bad) luck and desires, like American superstitionsBobo's family is greatly affected by the African's superstitions, even though they (other than Bobo) don't believe in them